diff --git a/utils/docker/publish_docker.sh b/utils/docker/publish_docker.sh
index 0bd26d866..620740698 100755
--- a/utils/docker/publish_docker.sh
+++ b/utils/docker/publish_docker.sh
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ PW_VERSION="${TAG_NAME#v}"
 
 RELEASE_CHANNEL="$1"
 if [[ "${RELEASE_CHANNEL}" == "stable" ]]; then
-  if [[ ! "${PW_VERSION}" =~ ^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+  if [[ ! "${PW_VERSION}" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
     echo "ERROR: cannot publish stable docker with Playwright version '${PW_VERSION}'"
     exit 1
   fi